Lance Armstrong Weighs Drug Admission

By

Vanessa O'Connell And

Reed Albergotti

Updated Jan. 4, 2013 11:33 p.m. ET

Lance Armstrong
,
the former professional cyclist who was recently stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told his associates that he is weighing his options for making a public acknowledgment that he had doped during his cycling career, according to a person familiar with the matter.

ENLARGE

Lance Armstrong before the start of the ninth stage of the 90th Tour de France cycling race in July 2003.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

His possible confession, if he goes forth with one, could enable Mr. Armstrong to begin the process of restoring his public reputation, which has been badly damaged in recent months.

Last year, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Mr. Armstrong of his seven titles and any other honors he received between his comeback from life-threatening cancer in 1998 and his retirement from top-level competitive cycling in 2010.

In recent months, Mr. Armstrong has been spending time with his family in Hawaii, weighing his options.

Those options include going on television, writing a book or making a public statement of some sort in the near future about his own alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. It's also possible Mr. Armstrong might choose not to make a public statement.

Tim Herman,
a lawyer for Mr. Armstrong, said that discussions with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency "aren't currently on the table," and added that "there has been no discussion" with the World Anti Doping Agency.

Officials at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency didn't respond to requests for comment.

Timeline: Decades of Doping

A confession by Mr. Armstrong would complicate several legal matters related to his alleged doping. Those include a whistleblower lawsuit filed by his former teammate, Floyd Landis, in 2010.

According to people familiar with the matter, the lawsuit alleges that Mr. Armstrong and other people associated with his former cycling team knowingly violated their sponsorship agreement with the United States Postal Service when they allegedly instituted an organized doping program on the team. The Postal Service was Mr. Armstrong's team sponsor during six of his seven Tour de France victories.

Under the contract with the team, riders were prohibited from using performance-enhancing drugs.

Further complicating matters is the fact that Mr. Armstrong denied doping for so long, and publicly attacked those who accused him over the years.

Corrections & Amplifications The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped cyclist Lance Armstrong of his seven titles and any other honors last year. Some versions of this article incorrectly said the action was taken earlier this year.

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